Another day, another Nathan MacKinnon point night for the Colorado Avalanche. I don’t have to point out how incredible MacKinnon is—but I shall do that anyway. We’re so blessed to have him on our team. Alongside Cale Makar, we’re just spoiled.
MacKinnon is now up to 29 consecutive home games with a point, whether that be from a tremendous-looking goal that he scored or by his efforts in getting an assist. If I’m not mistaken, assists go to just the last two players who touch the puck before the goal scorer. That being said, there are likely times when he could have gotten another assist had it not been for two other Avs players taking control of the puck before the goal scorer.
The Avalanche have 12 home games remaining. The team is 23-6 at home during the 2023-24 season, and during the six losses, have not lost in a shutout. While it’s still possible that happens, I feel as if the team is good enough to prevent them from happening. They have a 14-13-5 record in away games this year, which is not good, but that’s not what we’re focusing on in this scenario.
I think that there are times in which the Avalanche try and force MacKinnon’s point streak, which has worked out to a point, but it could be a factor in the number of turnovers they have had this season. The most important thing is that they play sound hockey and when that happens, the points will come for their best offensive player in MacKinnon. At the end of the day, MacKinnon’s streak is secondary, but when he scores, good results happen the majority of the time.
No offense to the Chicago Blackhawks, but Thursday night’s game should have been a game where MacKinnon had multiple points, which he did. Those types of games should be expected. It will be tougher down the road against teams like the Detroit Red Wings, but MacKinnon did get a point in their latest matchup. He did have 11 shots in that game, which is nuts. That’s what I’m talking about when I mention forcing the puck. The Avs lost 2-1 that game.
So, it’s not always best to force the puck. The Colorado Avalanche have to be smart. They have to find their way into the 2023-24 postseason. While getting MacKinnon a point or several has worked out well, this has to be secondary. The Colorado Avalanche have to get production from some of their other lines first and foremost.